I was researching for a UCLA Extension Marketing Master Class I’m giving in Istanbul in October on Global Branding and International Expansion and came across a subject I thought would be of interest to Personal Brand Blog readers: the brand tagline.
For the class, I’ll be looking at taglines for cities, counties, and countries. But it got me thinking about taglines for personal branding.
The “Lost Art” of the tagline
A tagline is one of the most cost effective ways to express the value of a brand. The advertisers of the past knew the art of the tagline and spent time, money, and research in developing a short and easy way to communicate a brand message. Here’s a few taglines, many of which have endured, some fallen by the wayside:
- You’re in good hands with Allstate. Allstate Insurance
- Reach out and touch someone. AT&T
- Cotton. The fabric of our lives. Cotton Incorporated
- Quality is job one. Ford
- Fair and balanced. Fox News
- They’re g-r-r-r-eat! Kellog’s Frosted Flakes
- Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. M&Ms
- M’m, m’m, m’m, m’m, m’m…toasty! Quiznos
- Eat fresh. Subway
- Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Timex
- Only you can prevent forest fires. U.S. Forest Service
- Can you hear me now?…Good! Verizon Wireless
- Where’s the beef? Wendy’s
Twitter profile as your tagline
Your profile statement on Twitter is a perfect opportunity to extend your brand value. As you build followers, you have an audience that you are communicating with.
One of the values of social media is “find and be found”. I encourage you to be fairly straightforward with your profile statement and describe either you personally or what you do. Don’t squander this valuable opportunity with cryptic or “too-cute” message.
A successful tagline should amplify your marketing message:
- Who you are
- What makes you special
- Why the world should care
What’s your tagline?
Author:
Beverly Macy is the Managing Partner of Y&M Partners and teaches a social media class at the UCLA Extension. She also co-hosts Gravity Summit events and provides personal branding coaching.
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“Can You Hear Me Now” is my least favorite…..but it’s smart because people mocked it, which is good WOM.
Also good (and has been copied..WOM as you say), interesting that it does not speak to value prop directly but implies “value” more broadly: “Got Milk?”
I wonder how one could turn that into a personal brand? Shannon
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I have been a part of an ongoing recipient of emails and letters regarding twitter, recently, because of comment sI made on my blog several weeks ago. The main problem with twitter is not twitter, it is the user. Think of it like this: A pro athlete is pro because they have mastered the art and science of the sport. PLace a person in on the court with any pro ball player and what seems so effortlessly achieved buy the pro, looks like a terrible attempt at the game “twister” by any amateur …. Brought to you by Guaranteed Autographs …r
My favorite tagline comes from a local Mexican restaraunt owner. His line is “never trust a skinny chef”, and of course he is a big guy and he says it with a big smile.. In a room of 200 people networking, he is the one almost everyone remembers.
It’s important to remember that your tag line is the phrase that you are giving others to repeat about you. You are placing the word of mouth in their mouth, so to speak.
For example, whenever I describe this blog I always end up saying “you know, Dan Schawbel, he’s the personal brand expert for Gen Y”
This article makes me smile, because I’ve been a skeptic, then a believer — through experience — in personal taglines.
Here are a couple of mine:
“Friendly greetings!”
“I amplify your awesome.”
Oh, and google for that first one.
[...] Tagline – your personal branding tagline. [...]
the information is not up to the mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it is totally pointless, so just buck up.
pull up your socks baby.
[...] color scheme and add your avatar. You’re supposed to be able to add a message, such as your personal brand tagline, but there must be a bug because I wasn’t able to do it (in Internet Explorer or Firefox) [...]